Bumper welds tearing!!!

Dmaxcc6spd

Active Member
With the weight of 3 bikes hanging on the bumper, the welds are starting to fail, or possibly the metal itself. Has anyone done some reinforcing and if so could you please post some picturers.

Thanks.
 

westxsrt10

Perfict Senior Member
I carry a 80lbs generator on my bumper. First off i ran another weld bead over the factory welds the added a gusset support on each side of the bumper to bumper bracket.
 

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Snakebite

Member
There is no doubt that the material is very light. I've built many racks for the back of trailers, and I've yet to have any of them tear, break or otherwise fail... I usually carry a full size generator and gear box on them. I'm chompin at the bits wanting to reinforce or replace the skimpy bike rack on the back of my new trailer, but can't do it until the warranty is up. westxsrt10 gussets are a good start on adding some strength.... however, there is nothing that will replace using a peice of metal that has some substance to it. The thin wall stuff that they use isn't really made to carry a load. If the bikes are attached to a post in the center of the bumper, it is likely that it bounces back and forth. This leverage can tear the light metal. I would suggest that you add a support from the center of the bumper back to the rear cross member of the Chassis. This would help to stabilize the twisting effect that any bike hitching post might have.

Snakebite
 

MurrayN.

Well-known member
What I did with my SOB trailer was run a heaver piece of tubing about 8" behind the bumper and connect this new piece of metal to the trailer frame on both sides by welding. The I ran a piece of 1/4" wall tubing from this new crossmember towards the back coming under the existing bumper. I also welded this new receiver onto the factory bumper so that it carried the weight of the bicycles, but was not subject to the twisting pressure of having a bike rack mounted only to the bumper tube. The bike racks act as a terrific lever when you put two/four bikes on them and then go bouncing down the road. Those bumper tubes are meant to store your sewer hose only, they can't possibly stand up to a bunch of bikes on a fairly long arm twisted on them. I had come home from a trip to discover that my bumper was about 85% torn off my main rails, the welds had held but had torn the metal right out of the lightweight tube. On my Sundance that I have now I made my own bike tray that the bikes sit on that is bolted right to the main frame.
 

SouthernNights

Past South Carolina Chapter Leader
We spent a lot of time at the beach and wanted to take our beach wagon with us.

Here is what I did to be able to carry it without putting and weight on the bumper.
I did grind down and reweld the seam between the frame and the bumper extensions that were welded to the frame.
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Hope this helps a little. Just from reading posts, it sounded like Lippert would not honor their warranty if you welded to their frame. Don't know if that is true but nothing is welded to the frame.

The wagon is now gone and we have an expanded wire carrier bolted to the frame with a dock box on top. Just gives a little more storage that way.
 
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caissiel

Senior Member
I bolted my rear bumper hitch on the bumper and the stabilizer frame. The stabilizers are not used when traveling so I used the frame to help with the support of the bike rack.
That way the rack is just applying a downward force on the bumper. The bumper racks sold that only use the bumper for supports, they apply a twisting force that is 4 to 10 times more then straight down. The old trailers were build to last and were much better design, thats where we are getting the Ideas but today price has taken over manufacturing.
 

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